Thankful

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I have no doubt that praise and thanksgiving make you feel good. I’ve heard many testimonies to that effect. But please hear me, praise and thanksgiving do more than give you a good feeling. They also increase your awareness and comprehension of God’s goodness. And because of that, we have a greater capacity to enjoy His presence in our lives. 

Here’s an idea to help keep praise and thanksgiving at the forefront of your thoughts. As you spend time increasing your prayer list, make, and enlarge, a praise list. Count them. Name them - one by one. When you do that, it helps you recognize God’s goodness in your life. As you recount your blessings, let it guide your thoughts. Thank Him more. Praise Him more. When you do, you’ll enjoy Him all the more. 

Remember God's goodness this Thanksgiving Day, and every day, and you will deepen your enjoyment of Him.

The old hymn said it well:

When upon life’s billow you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessing, name them one by one, 

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done!

(© Public Domain - Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1897)                           

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever! Psalm 30.11-12

Thankful

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I want to be more engaged with our national holiday, Thanksgiving. It is arguably the most underrated holiday in America. It is tucked between two highly celebrated events, Halloween and Christmas. And it seems to me that the moment we put the Jack-O-Lanterns away and finish eating all the candy, we go into a Christmas frenzy mode. 

We start watching for Holiday Specials at stores that have already decorated their aisles with snowflakes, mistletoe, reindeer, and chubby men in red suits. I wonder if they got chubby from eating all the Halloween candy! It shouldn’t come as a surprise though; the spirit of Christmas is very infectious, and let’s face it, it’s a lot harder to profit off a holiday that promotes thanksgiving.

You may be saying, “Come on, Pastor Rick, it’s not like that at all.” Well, the truth is, we are much faster at coming up with a list of the things we want for Christmas than making a list of the things we are thankful for. I would add that our prayers are often like a Christmas wish list - “God, I want…” God, please give me…” At times, it’s like we get tied up with what we want God to do for us rather than thanking Him for what He has done for us. 

Years ago I had a friend with severe emphysema. He needed a constant supply of oxygen to help his breathing. Every time I greeted him with the customary, “How are ya,” he invariably responded, “Thankful.” 

One day, I asked him about his “thankful” response. He said (tongue-in-cheek), “I’m vertical and above room temperature.” You really can’t argue with that!

With that in mind, let’s be thankful people all the time, not just merely on Thanksgiving Day. Still, amidst football, turkey and dressing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie (or whatever your desired “feast” is), take time to thank God for all He has done in your life. We give thanks because God is good — all the time, and, All the time —  God is good!

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3.16

Thankful

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Your expression of thanksgiving is one of the best ways to testify to the greatness of God. The book of Psalms is a great example, replete with confessions of thanksgiving, and encouragement to be thankful. Another example is a psalm not found in the Psalms. It’s found in 1 Chronicles 16. It’s the story about the Ark being brought to Jerusalem. David wanted everyone to join the celebration of thanksgiving and praise. 

After his encouragement to express thankfulness, he wrote a rather long and rich psalm. It sparked thanksgiving and praise for a variety of things:

God’s wonderful deeds among His people (9-10)

God’s strength (11)

God’s miracles and judgments (12)

That God remembers His covenant forever (13-18)

That God protects His people when they are vulnerable (19-22)

That God delivers His people (23)

That God is not like other gods (24-27)

That God is glorious and strong (28)

The beauty of God’s holiness (29)

At that point in the psalm, praise erupted. Everyone, praise the Lord and give Him the glory He deserves — the Earth, the heavens, the sea and everything in it, crops in the fields, trees — “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His love endures forever” (30-34) 

David closed this psalm with a prayer, “Save us, O God of our salvation! Gather and rescue us from among the nations, so we can thank Your holy name and rejoice and praise You” (35).

If you have been rescued by God — saved, redeemed, born again, whatever you call it — say, “Thank You,” rejoice, and praise the Lord. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so” (Psalm 107.2). Not only will it bless you, it will be a testimony to those around you of the greatness of our God!

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done. 1 Chronicles 16.8

Thankful

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

High-Level Thankfulness is my goal. I can't say that I always achieve it, but I’m going for it with all my heart. The reason for High-Level Thankfulness is that it is an indication of the heart. It demonstrates that our lives are in balance—that our thankfulness is not just about getting a few things from God.

Maybe a little explanation is due here. I’m suggesting that there is a Low-Level Thankfulness and a High-Level Thankfulness. Unfortunately, many dwell in the lower level. That’s where we see God at work in our lives with sporadic spurts of blessing for which we say, “Thank You.” We say, “Thanks” because we received some wanted pleasurable thing. That kind of thankfulness misses the total perspective of God’s goodness. 

High-Level Thankfulness is a consistent “Thanks” in the good and the bad. It comes with the belief that God is in control, that He is doing things for our good and His glory, even when we can't see it or understand it. 

In her great testimony about survival in a German concentration camp, The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom told of a time when her sister said they should be thankful for everything in their barracks. Corrie refused because there was an infestation of fleas making their lives even more miserable. Later, she found out that it was the fleas that kept the guards away from their barracks, which allowed them to have undisturbed prayer meetings. She came around and said, “Thank You, Lord, for the fleas!”

So, while you are thanking God “who satisfies your mouth with good things” [Psalm 103.5], don’t forget to thank Him for the “fleas” as well. Remember, God is in control and knows what is best. That’s because, God is good—all the time, and All the time—God is good!

Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor Him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69.30

Thankful

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

One truth I’ve discovered in life is this: Thankful people are the happiest people. The inspired writers of Scripture reveal that same truth. The Bible is filled with stories, admonition, and words about thankfulness. Take the word eucharist, for example. It’s the word used in our modern language for Communion. However, it is also a Greek word for thanksgiving. One could rightfully say thanksgiving embodies the highest act of gratitude for the greatest gift given to man - the sacrifice of Jesus, the Christ.

We have so many things to be thankful for, don’t we? We can start with grateful acknowledgment of past blessings. Psalm 26.7 - That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Your wondrous works (NKJV).

When God has shown His loving kindness in the present, it’s hard to keep silent about it. Psalm 69.30 - I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving (NKJV).

Thanksgiving is the right attitude to enter the presence of God. Psalm 95.2 - Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms (NKJV). One modern paraphrase says, Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank Him. Worship Him (Message).

And please, never forget that thanksgiving will be part of our final hymn to God. Revelation 7.12 - Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever (NKJV).

Don’t wait until then to be thankful. Start practicing now. Joy and happiness are sure to follow!

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100.4-5

Thankful

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I challenged myself about a week ago to use these eDevotions as a platform to talk about thankfulness until Thanksgiving Day. Little did I know that I would have to dig deep to fulfill that desire. Just yesterday I wrote, “Dear Christ follower, there are times when thanksgiving is a sacrifice. We say thanks through clenched teeth and chocked back tears.” And today, I’m writing about thankfulness through “choked back tears.” 

Yesterday around Noon, my dear friend, Ernie Liebman went to his eternal reward. I had been with him for about an hour, then went to get a bite to eat. I wasn’t gone that long when I received a call from the family, “Rick, can you come back?” “Sure, I’ll be right there.”

My wife and I left immediately and when we arrived, we got the news that Ernie had passed away just a few minutes before we got there. Our eyes leaked tears. There were hugs and deep-felt sorrow aplenty. 

Earlier that morning, I was sitting by his bedside and I started singing…

When I get to heaven gonna talk with Jesus

When I get to heaven gonna see His face

What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see

When I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace

When we’ve been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we first begun

Today, I’m thankful for heaven! I plan to join Ernie there someday. And you know what else? Everyone who lives there will never have eyes that leak tears!

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away. Revelation 21:4 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) 

Thankful

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

It’s easy to be thankful and consider God praise worthy when we have full stomachs, a closet full of clothes, reliable transportation, a cozy house or apartment, and a little nest egg for the future. Those are the “biggies.” But what do you do when the events in your life go south? When you’ve lost a loved one? When your marriage crumbles? When your children rebel? When you’re diagnosed with an illness? It’s much more difficult to be thankful in times like that.

Dear Christ follower, there are times when thanksgiving is a sacrifice. We say thanks through clenched teeth and chocked back tears. A sacrifice of thanksgiving demonstrates our trust in the Lord, regardless the adversity. I can tell you from personal experience that giving thanks in the midst of a storm in life brings joy to the heart.

When you are having trouble finding good in your life, be thankful anyway. Look no further than Jesus who was wounded for your transgressions and bruised for your iniquities. Despite everything you're facing, you can rejoice in Him. Remember, a sacrifice of praise honors God [Psalm 50.23].

I think Andrae Crouch said it better than anyone in his song, Through It All.

I thank God for the mountains,

And I thank Him for the valleys,

I thank Him for the storms

He brought me through;

For if I'd never had a problem

I wouldn't know that He could solve them,

I'd never know what faith in God could do.

Through it all, through it all,

I've learned to trust in Jesus,

I've learned to trust in God;

Through it all, through it all,

I've learned to depend upon His Word.

© 1971, Renewed 1999 Manna Music, Inc.

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13.15